It was another action-packed weekend for Striders athletes, with strong performances across road racing, cross country and county competition.

The weekend began on Friday evening at the Friday Night Under the Lights 5K in Battersea Park, where Catherine O’Connor produced an excellent run to clock 17:49, finishing just three seconds shy of her personal best.

On Saturday attention turned to the Hertfordshire Veterans Cross Country Championships at Cassiobury Park, where Striders Masters runners delivered an impressive medal haul.

Among the standout performances were Jonathan Bird, who secured bronze in the MV50 category, and Nigel Aston, who also claimed bronze in the MV60 race. In the women’s races, Kate Dixon took bronze in the FV40 category, while Mandy Attree earned a silver medal in the FV60 category.

Striders also celebrated team success in the MV60 category, where Nigel Aston, Simon Errington and Colin Braybrook combined to win team silver.

There were also strong runs from Helen Cartlidge, Gavin Clifton, Jay Wheeler and Julianne Nightingale, while thanks were given to Louise Bentham and Thomas Croft for their superb support and organisation on the day.

Sunday saw several Striders representing Hertfordshire at the Inter-Counties 20-mile race held at Debden Airfield in Essex.

Patrick Hayes made his county debut and marked the occasion in style, setting a personal best of 1:59:16, finishing 23rd overall and third Hertfordshire runner home.

The highlight of the day came in the women’s race, where the Hertfordshire ladies team claimed overall victory, with Striders athletes playing a key role in the success as the county retained its title.

Leading the way was Freya Weddell, who produced a superbly judged race to finish first woman overall in 2:03:26. Catherine O’Connor followed with another outstanding performance, running strongly in the latter stages despite strengthening winds to finish 5th in 2:07:55, a new personal best. Heather Hann completed the scoring trio just a minute later, finishing in 2:08:56 to seal the team triumph.